Large round bales are a popular package in which to store a variety of crop materials, ranging from alfalfa to corn stalks. The large cylindrical configuration and generally uniform density of the bales enhance their weathering characteristics, sometimes allowing the bales to remain in the field until needed. Additionally, the bales concentrate large quantities of crop material in individual packages, reducing the time required to gather and transport a given amount of crop material when needed. It is sometimes desirable to collect the round bales from the field to transport to a central storage area where a large number of bales can be covered (e.g., in a barn or under a tarpaulin).
Round balers are typically operated by discharging the completed round bale directly out of the baler onto the ground or discharging the completed round bale onto a trailer or cart attached to the baler that receives and holds completed round bales until the baler operator is ready to unload the bales from the trailer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,386,493 to Holdeman et al. (hereinafter, “Holdeman et al.”), titled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING LARGE ROUND CROP BALES”, issued Jun. 7, 1983, and is incorporated herein by reference. Holdeman et al. describe a bale-forming machine that has a rolling mechanism that initially tumbles loose crop material forwardly between the mechanism and the ground as the machine advances along a windrow. Thereafter, the rolling material becomes confined off the ground in an elevated forming chamber as additional material is fed into the chamber and as the mechanism rolls the material into a bale. Upon reaching a predetermined size, the bale can be tied and then ejected from the chamber through the raised rear section of the machine.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,534,285 to Underhill (hereinafter, “Underhill”), titled “ACTUATOR MECHANISM FOR CONTINUOUS ROLL BALING MACHINE”, issued Aug. 13, 1985, and is incorporated herein by reference. Underhill describes a machine for continuously forming roll bales of crop material has a lower apron and forward and rearward upper aprons cooperating to define front and rear bale forming chambers. Pivoting arms move the forward upper apron between various positions during bale formation. Ramps extend upwardly above the lower apron in an operative position, and the ramps are also movable to an inoperative position. An actuator mechanism is interconnected between the arms and the ramps to cause movement of the ramps between the operative and inoperative positions in response to movement of the forward upper apron between its various positions.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,633,659 to Anstey et al. (hereinafter, “Anstey et al.”), titled “CYLINDRICAL BALE-FORMING PRESS”, issued Jan. 6, 1987, and is incorporated herein by reference. Anstey et al. describe a press for forming cylindrical or round bales comprises sets of bands or belts which, in a conventional manner, define a chamber for forming a bale by rolling up, as well as a pickup designed to transfer harvest products gathered on the ground as far as a bale-forming chamber through an entry opening for the products, and a starting roller located on that side of the opening that is remote from the pickup. According to the invention, a scraper is arranged to cooperate with the starting roller in such a manner as to resist any rolling up of the harvest products around the roller. If the roller is a smooth circular section roller, the scraper may be stationary. It may be arranged in conjunction with fingers extending between the bands or belts as far as to the immediate vicinity of the starting roller on the side of the roller remote from the scraper. In the case of a noncircular starting roller, the scraper is mounted so as to be movable, especially pivotable. It may be resiliently urged towards the starting roller, or else be positively displaced by a driving mechanism.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,742,880 to Schrag et al. (hereinafter, “Schrag et al.”), titled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING THE WEIGHT OF BALES ISSUING FROM A CROP BALER”, issued May 10, 1988, and is incorporated herein by reference. Schrag et al. describe bales emanating from the discharge end of a baler are received on an accumulating trailer provided with a weighing scale that, in combination with an electrical system, automatically determines the weight of certain of the successively issuing bales and conveniently displays such weight to the operator in the cab of the towing vehicle so that the operator can monitor the quality and condition of bales prepared by the machine on an ongoing, non-stop basis. An onboard computer preferably forming a part of the electronic system controls the process and assures its accuracy, while also providing information such as the average weight of bales weighed since last resetting the system.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,266 to Ratzlaff et al. (hereinafter, “Ratzlaff et al.”), titled “CONTINUOUS ROUND BALER WITH ACCUMULATING TRAILER”, issued Mar. 28, 1989, and is incorporated herein by reference. Ratzlaff et al. describe a baler having a “vertical” bale starting chamber in which the upwardly moving rear belts and the downwardly moving front belts cooperate to tumble and roll incoming material into a bale. When the bale reaches full size in the expanded chamber, the bale is lifted while still in its chamber to a wrapping station where it continues to spin as a binding wrapper is applied. During the lifting of the finished bale and subsequent application of the wrapper, fresh material entering the continuously moving baler is confined beneath the finished bale in a new starting chamber, whereupon the cycle is repeated. As the new bale grows, a discharge ramp becomes formed by certain stretches of the belts and rollers to gravitationally discharge the wrapped bale from the baler without stopping advancement of the machine. An accumulating trailer is hitched to the baler in a position to receive bales from the discharge ramp as they gravitate down the same and to temporarily store the accumulated group of bales until the operator selects a site for dumping the bales.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,822,967 to Hood et al. (hereinafter, “Hood et al.”), titled “BALER WITH SWING ARM BALE WRAPPER”, issued Oct. 20, 1998, and is incorporated herein by reference. Hood et al. describe an apparatus for forming and wrapping round bales that includes a baler, arm structure, a cradle, and moving structure. The baler is for taking in a crop material, forming the crop material into a bale, and ejecting the bale. The arm structure is connected to the baler. The cradle is pivotably supported by the arm structure and is for holding the ejected bale. The cradle includes rotating structure for rotating the bale about a central axis of the bale. Moving structure is for providing relative movement between the baler and the cradle. Wrapping structure is supported by the baler and is adapted for holding wrapping material. The wrapping structure is movable around the bale and cooperates with the rotating structure to be capable of wrapping the bale with the wrapping material.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,240,712 to Meijer et al. (hereinafter, “Meijer et al.”), titled “BALE COLLECTOR”, issued Jun. 5, 2001, and is incorporated herein by reference. Meijer et al. describe a bale collector having a mobile frame for connecting behind a bale delivery device, such as a baler, by which round bales can be deposited at desired points on the land. The bale collector provides a storage place for a single round bale, a non-return element for preventing rolling back of the bale from the rear and a tilt control element connected between the frame and the rear bearing part for tilting a rear end of the rear bearing part between an upper position of a collecting state and a lower position of an unloading state.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,421,996 to Deutsch et al. (hereinafter, “Deutsch et al.”), titled “HARVESTER WITH BALE FORMING CHAMBER HAVING A TRANSPORT MODE”, issued Jul. 23, 2002, and is incorporated herein by reference. Deutsch et al. describe a harvester that includes an integral two-section baling device with the section movement designed to provide both a bale discharge function and a transport height reduction function. In one embodiment, one section of the device includes rollers which follow a downwardly sloped ramp as the sections are opened relative to each other. The sloped ramped additionally serves as a portion of a finished bale handler and bale support. In a second embodiment, an additional hydraulic cylinder system controls the downward movement of the opened sections towards the transport position. Existing baler functions are advantageously utilized to provide transport height reduction with a minimal amount of additional hardware, and the operator can switch between transport and operational modes quickly and easily.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,000,371 to Viaud (hereinafter, “Viaud”), titled “LARGE ROUND BALER COMBINED WITH A BALE PROCESSING ARRANGEMENT LOCATED FOR RECEIVING A FORMED BALE”, issued Feb. 21, 2006, and is incorporated herein by reference. Viaud describes a large round baler equipped with a bale processing arrangement in the form of a bale wrapping arrangement. A wrapping table is mounted to a guide arrangement for guided movement between a bale-receiving position and bale wrapping and bale discharge positions. The guide arrangement includes two sections, one of which can be moved to a near vertical non-operating position so as to diminish the overall length of the baler and processing arrangement. The wrapping arm of the bale wrapping arrangement can be dismounted for an operating mode where formed bales are deposited directly on the ground by the wrapping table.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,311,335 to Muhs et al. (hereinafter, “Muhs et al.”), titled “TRAILER AND FUEL TANK ASSEMBLY”, issued Dec. 25, 2007, and is incorporated herein by reference. Muhs et al. describe a trailer and fuel tank assembly. The fuel tank preferably forms the body of the trailer. The fuel tank may include a recess in the top surface for receiving the motor and/or pump, which may lower the pump closer to the ground to increase the suction performance of the pump. The bottom surface of the fuel tank may be bowed upward. This may cause any contaminants in the fuel tank to collect along the edges of the tank. Drain ports, positioned near the edges of the tank, can then be used to drain the contaminants from the tank. To easily attach accessories to the trailer, one or more track bars may be mounted to the trailer body. The track bars preferably include an elongate channel and an elongate slot. By placing an insert inside of the channel and bolting the accessory to the insert through the longitudinally extending slot, the accessories can be easily attached to the trailer.
There is a need for a baler cart with an improved loading and unloading mechanism and enhanced maneuverability.